Jalandhar's sports industry looks to start a new innings

Shivesh Yadav, 58, a rickshaw puller in Jalandhar's Basti Nau, was heard arguing with a customer over the money that the customer owed.

When asked about the flaring tempers, he said: "There are fewer people visiting this place now. We have barely any business." Pulling the rickshaw through the dusty street, he bemoans the lack of customers. "Before the online business, this used to be a bustling market.

You wouldn't be able to tell a Sunday from a Monday. We heard about this place in Bihar and came 25 years ago.

Now, the situation is such that we have to go back during some months because the business is so bad." The origins of the Jalandhar sports industry can be traced to partition. In 1947, people shifted from Sialkot.

Initially settled in Batala, these people moved to Jalandhar and Meerut, where raw material was easily available. The industry in Jalandhar was thriving until the pandemic came.

"Covid was a major blow to us. And even after four years, we have not reached the pre-pandemic levels.

Although things have recovered, they are far from what they were, and we expect the new government to look into the matter," says Dheeraj Kumar, general manager, Spartan.

GST and policy woes A major problem cited by the industry is the variable goods and services tax (GST) rates.

"We want the new government to make the rates consistent. As of now, they vary across 5, 12 and 18 per cent.